Archinect - News

Workplace innovator is looking for designers to imagine the future of offices

2021-10-04T15:09:00-04:00

Last week, we published the results of our survey of the architectural community, which focused on workplace trends and a return to offices. Key findings from the survey, which can be read in its entirety here, included the finding that just over half of respondents had either returned to in-person working or had chosen to work some of their time in the office. Of those who were working in offices that had re-opened, almost 90% said that changes had been made to their office infrastructure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The results demonstrated a continuing dependence on local health requirements, adaptions to technology, and employee preferences, adding further credence to a prevailing view that workplace trends, including what we expect from the offices of the future, will be permanently changed long after the pandemic has ended. In this respect, architects sit at an interesting crossroads. As office users, architects will be among the professions whose work environments are destin...

Jeanne Gang closed the pay gap at her firm and urges others to do the same

2018-07-05T15:40:00-04:00

Achieving pay equity is a foundational act of building an environment in which creativity can flourish. Taking the first step toward equality via pay empowers us to move forward, together, to address the more complex challenges that await. Comprehensive, math-based tools are available to assess the problem. Let’s put them to work. Follow the money (or lack thereof), and fix pay inequity now.

Jeanne Gang's firm Studio Gang recently scrutinized their office for any existing pay gap. She explains that despite their prioritization of equality there was in fact a small gender pay gap in their office.

Using her own practice as an example, Gang urges every architecture studio to go through the same process. Gang calls for other firms to "use the assessment tools, determine where you are, and make the needed adjustments" citing this step as the the easiest and most concrete way to correct inequality in the workplace.

The Architecture Lobby's statement on #metoo in architecture

2018-03-26T18:28:00-04:00

The Architecture Lobby released the following statement with regards to the #metoo movement in architecture. The organization invites firms to join their Solidarity Network in support of those who speak up against sexual harassment or abuse.

"We, The Architecture Lobby, stand with victims of sexual harassment and assault in school and in the workplace. We decry in no uncertain terms the use of positions of power to perpetuate abominable conduct. We ask all members of the architectural community to join us, and the many victims of harassment, in calling for fundamental change of our culture.

The issue of harassment in the workplace is not limited to any gender, employment status, or age. It has its roots in the relationship between workers and their bosses, as well as teachers and their students, in the power differential created by that relationship that allows harassment and abuse to go unchecked. For too long we have allowed the architecture profession to structurally elevate me...

Winners of the Workplace of the Future Competition

2013-11-20T19:26:00-05:00

The results are in for the Workplace of the Future Design Competition, presented by Metropolis and Business Interiors by Staples. The design competition questions the blurred definition of the workplace and the present-day possibility that work can be done just about anywhere now, with wireless and cloud technology readily available. With this in mind, entrants were challenged to design an ideal workspace fit for the mobile work environment.

The jury, which featured Tom Krizmanic — a principal at STUDIOS Architecture — and other esteemed members in leading corporations, selected three winning projects:

↑ First place: Vertical Flux: The Office Tower as Fluctuating Atmospheres by Joseph Filippelli

↑ Runner-up (Second place): CoLAB by Eckhart, team: Teun van den Dries, Frank van Haalen, Britt Brijder, Sander Mulders, Pauline Quast

↑ Honorable mention (Third place): NEXUS: The locomotion of business by Sara Willhoite, Angie Tjisnoyo, Matthew Ford, Mina Lee

All images courtesy of Metropolis.

For a more in-depth look into the competition, check out this recent article from Metropolis.